Cycling-Cavendish grabs sixth Giro stage win of career

Britain's Mark Cavendish
secured a sixth career stage win in the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday
as he continues to rack up victories in the Grand Tours.

The HTC-Highroad rider stormed out from behind Italian
Alessandro Petacchi to claim the bunch sprint victory by more
than a bike length.

Spain's Francisco Ventoso came closest to Cavendish on the
slightly uphill sprint at Teramo whilst Petacchi had to settle
for third.

Cavendish, second in the second stage behind Petacchi after
the Italian allegedly shifted his line, said he was more than
delighted to finally clinch a victory.

"We kept the break at a good distance and when we got to the
finish it was a case of staying on the front."

"As soon as I got on Petacchi's wheel I knew I was in the
best position."

"Petacchi went with 250 metres to go, I went with 150 metres
and I won."

Cavendish angrily brushed aside accusations from Ventoso
that he had received tows from a team car on the 20 kms Mount
Etna stage.

"We rode like madmen to try and stay inside the time limit."

"It's always the same, if I'm dropped but I finish inside
the time limit it means I cheat. But I challenge Ventoso to
spend a day with me in the peloton on a mountain stage."

"If I stop to pee, if I crash and change a wheel, I always
have a race official -- as well as an ice cream truck and a
marching band -- all watching me. If I can cheat then I'm (stage
magician) David Copperfield."

The HTC-Highroad rider confirmed that, with few sprint
opportunities in the Giro, he had made a specific target of
winning stage 10.

"It was one of the three real bunch sprint stages on this
year's race so it was a big goal," he said.

"Fortunately after the rest day I was feeling a bit more
recovered and the team rode brilliantly."

Following his devastating win on Mount Etna on stage nine,
Alberto Contador of Spain remains the overall leader for a
second day.

His pink jersey visible at the front of the pack in the
closing kilometres of the largely flat stage as he sought to
avoid crashes, Contador told reporters he had been a bit nervous
at the finish but had had no problems.

"I'm taking this on day by day, and today everything went
fine," he said.